1999-04-02 04:00:00 PDT EAST BAY -- In a series of predawn raids yesterday, a task force of local, state and federal law enforcement officers arrested 18 East Bay men who allegedly manufactured or distributed methamphetamine.

During the early morning sweeps, investigators seized 129 pounds of drugs and drug chemicals worth $7.5 million on the street. They also confiscated $130,000 in suspected drug revenues and 53 firearms, including several assault rifles and a semiautomatic 12-gauge combat shotgun with a 20-shot drum magazine.

In announcing the arrests at a news conference in the U.S. District Courthouse in Oakland, U.S. Attorney Robert Mueller said the cases marked a substantial local victory in the national war against methamphetamine, an increasingly popular drug that is known to street users as "crank," "meth," "speed," and "ice."

"The war on methamphetamine is fought one dealer at a time, one lab at a time, one conspiracy at a time," he said.

"When we find the drug dealers, we prosecute them. When we find the labs, we shut them down. When we find the conspiracy, we unravel it and send the leaders to prison."

The firearms seized in the operation were particularly significant, Mueller said. Several of the suspects have previous criminal convictions, so they will be separately prosecuted for illegal possession of firearms by ex-convicts.

The case, Mueller said, "shows the intersection of drugs and guns. . . . The guns were utilized in the course of methamphetamine trafficking."

The raids were conducted in connection with seven federal grand jury indictments that were handed up in secret last month and made public yesterday. In all, 22 people were named as suspected methamphetamine manufacturers or dealers, including four who previously had been arrested on unrelated charges.

During the raids, investigators also closed 10 methamphetamine laboratories, some of which were large enough to produce as much as 10 pounds of the illegal drug every week.

In related raids in northern Nevada, investigators seized 90 pounds of ephedrine, a stimulant used to illegally manufacture methamphetamine. The ephedrine seized -- enough to produce 70 pounds of high quality "speed" -- was the largest amount ever confiscated in Nevada, Mueller said.

Copies of the indictments unsealed yesterday showed that undercover agents engaged in a number of controlled drug transactions with alleged members of the ring.

"Every time we lifted up a rock, another bug would crawl out," said Bruce Gebhardt, the special agent in charge of the San Francisco office of the FBI.

Representatives of other agencies involved in the probe praised the cooperation between local, state and federal investigators during the task force investigation.

"California is the source for much of the methamphetamine in the Western United States, and even the East Coast," said Dave Tresmontan, the special agent in charge of the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement office in San Francisco. "No one agency alone has sufficient resources to deal with the problem."

The suspects were allegedly involved in seven different drug trafficking operations. They are:

-- Adam Alan Heredia, 24, and Gregory Land, 22. Both are accused of conspiracy and distribution of methamphetamine.

Eppley, Abuan, Land and Barnes had previously been arrested on other charges. All the rest were taken into custody during yesterday's raids.

Eppley is a Fairfield resident, Beitzell lives in El Cerrito, Woods in Concord, Smith in El Sobrante, Wentz in Vallejo, Bustos in Pittsburg, Land in Pinole and Carasis and Rice in Antioch. All the others reside in San Pablo.